The Magician's Nephew | Chapter 9: The Founding of Narnia

Chapter Summary: 

Chapter 9 opens with the Lion's song creating the grass and trees (which grow very quickly) in the new world. Uncle Andrew and Jadis argue about their situation, but the Cabby tells them to be silent, and to simply watch and listen. 

The Lion gets closer and closer, until Jadis throws the piece of lamppost that she is holding in her hand directly at the Lion. The Lion is unphased and passes by; Jadis runs in fear. Uncle Andrew again tries to find a way to escape, but is interrupted by the sight of a lamppost growing quickly from the ground where the piece of lamppost had recently landed. This causes Uncle Andrew to reflect on all of the fame and money this discovery could make him.

Digory goes to ask the Lion if there is anything here that can cure his mother. Instead, he watches an unusual scene: The ground boils, and from it comes animals of every sort. The Lion then chooses specific pairs of each type of animal; these animals encircle him. The Lion breathes on them, and visible changes take place (the animals change size; shape).

Then everyone hears a voice say, "Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters" (p. 48).

Reflection:

This is a chapter where both noise and lack thereof (henceforth known as silence) play an important role. As Narnia is being created, Uncle Andrew and the Witch Jadis are having an argument about the horrible situation that has unfolded. In the middle of Uncle Andrew's lengthy rant, the Cabby says, "Oh stow it... Watchin's and listenin's the thing at present; not talking" (p. 44). Meanwhile, the Lion is creating the new world with his song, and Polly realizes that the notes in the song are directly reflecting the changes that are occurring in the world around them (i.e. a series of quick, light notes are accompanied by the emergence of flowers). 

Later in the chapter, the emergence of the animals from the ground is accompanied by what you would expect--a great amount of animal noises (I imagine standing in the middle of a zoo just before it opens for the day). But as soon as the Lion marks indicate which animals should encircle him, they do so, and become completely silent (out of reverence, one would assume, based on the allegory). Here is the brief passage in which this occurs:

"For the first time that day there was complete silence, except for the noise of running water. Digory's heart beat wildly; he knew something very solemn was going to be done. He had not forgotten about his Mother, but he knew jolly well that, even for her, he couldn't interrupt a thing like this" (p. 48). 

Noise and silence are important things in our lives and society--and we don't often understand the impact unless we are actively thinking about the impact. If I sit here and think about it, there have been rather significant moments where I have been incredibly aware of sound or silence. I remember driving away from my wedding reception with Laura, and within seconds of leaving the venue, I think the first thing I said was, "It is so quiet!" Compared to the noise and celebration of the last 3-4 hours, the silence was both surprising and much-needed!

If you've ever been at a sporting event, you know the impact of noise (and you know what loud noise or silence mean about your team's performance). Consider this video below, which is one of my favorite sports videos of all time, and think about the difference in noise had that shot not been made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KbNmJQllmg

And depending on where you live, you are used to some degree of noise. When you are laying down to go to sleep in an unfamiliar place, you notice the difference in noise, don't you? Most of us who don't live in a flight zone know the unfortunate circumstance of staying in an airport hotel near a busy airport. And those of us who live in a city of any size at all know the weird feeling of visiting that relative out in the country--and how ridiculously silent it is when you're trying to fall asleep (you can hear your heart beating in your ear, and it's annoying the hell out of you, isn't it?).

This is getting lengthy, so I will conclude. Noise and silence are important in our society and in Narnia. Important enough that even children (Digory & Polly) are keenly aware of its impact and importance.